Maria's Choice
by LadyStina
Summary: AU - set after the events of "The Rescue." One of the mothers gets a chance to witness a slice of life in the Evil Lair and has a choice to make.


Disclaimer: I don't own Megamind and am making no profit off this story.

AN: So this story happens after the events in "The Rescue." Please read that series before poking around in here. There will be less confusion that way. Edited to fix typos because I posted too soon after typing.

Maria's Choice

Two years ago, Maria would never have been able to imagine the direction her life would take. That was when she made a definitive life-changing decision.

She had decided way back in high school that she was going to take advantage of the opportunity her parents provided for their children by moving to America from Mexico. Unlike her brother and sisters who got married early, she decided to put romance on the back burner and concentrate on school. While they were waiting tables, she was serving fast food and studying for finals. When they were knee-deep in diapers, she was stressing about the upcoming LSAT. While they were shuttling her nieces and nephews to soccer or dance practice, she was taking the Bar Exam.

When she was finished with law school, she had to work hard to get and keep her job at a law firm, so she still never took the opportunity to date. She put in late nights and spent hours pouring over her cases for her clients. She hadn't been practicing law too long before she was presented with an opportunity to move from Detroit to Metro City. Sure, she had seen the newscasts of the battles between super-beings, but what was the likelihood that it was any more common than the drive-bys that occurred in her home-town. She had shrugged and made the move. It also put a little more distance between herself and her mother. Maria's father was proud that she made something of herself. Her mother, on the other hand, just couldn't see why a Latina woman would need to have a career, or how she could not be married at the ripe old age of twenty-seven.

Moving to Metro City was a definite culture shock. In her second week there, she ended up in a crowd running in terror down the street away from one of Megamind's giant battle robots. But once she got used to the bi-monthly battles and the excessive news coverage, everything went back to normal for Maria. She moved up in her new law firm, and was eventually regarded as one of the city's better lawyers. It was fairly easy when a person was single and could devote the amount of time she did on her clients.

Then two years ago, her mother had a sudden and fatal heart attack. Her family had a habit of not going to the doctor, so her heart problems were never detected. Maria attended the funeral, of course, and looking around at her surviving family was like seeing them for the first time. They were all hugging and crying, and she felt a little like an outsider. She had a total of ten nieces and nephews that she hardly saw anymore. Most of them were teenagers now. Her mother valued family over everything else and Maria was starting to see why. That still wasn't a good reason to put down Maria's choice to _have_ a career, but she _could_ have tried harder to have a family.

Maria enjoyed being independent once she got out from under her parents' influence and had decided _years_ ago that she didn't need a man to make her happy. But now she was having second thoughts as she observed this amazing support group that a family could provide for each other and she was envious. Unfortunately, now that she was set in her ways she generally found Latino men to be highly chauvinistic, and she fought with that enough in her work environment. She also knew that if she married a black guy or, heaven forbid, a _white_ guy, what family she _did_ have would disown her.

After suffering through a year of first and second dates, Maria finally sat down with a notepad to make a list of what she wanted out of life. It was probably a little late in the game to be doing this at thirty-five, but some things she planned out and other things was just supposed to happen. When her 'life' part of life hasn't sorted itself out by now, it was time to get serious and get a plan. When her list was finished, she was slightly surprised that having a partner (male or female) wasn't really on there. But having children was. There are tons of single parents out there, and she had more money than most, so the kids wouldn't suffer. And there are always day-care facilities. She was a pro at juggling priorities and getting what she wanted, so really, what was stopping her this time? She couldn't really go out and "get knocked up" either. That just wasn't in her character. It was time to look at alternative methods.

She went to the Metro City Fertility Clinic and went through the whole screening process. She was allowed to pick a sperm donor (a Latino doctor) and was successfully inseminated.

Then one day when she was two months along, she was happily planning which room in her apartment to make into the nursery when there was a knock on the door. She wasn't expecting anybody, but it was a weekend, so it could've been some kids in the building selling something for a fundraiser. She opened the door without looking through the peep-hole first and then backed up in surprised fear. Metro City's supervillain, Megamind, was at her door.

The blue alien strode through the door with his cape flaring dramatically behind him. He was followed by a gorilla robot that had a strange fish where the head should have been, that then closed the door politely behind them. Even though Maria hadn't been to church in years, she fell into old habits and crossed herself while muttering prayers. Megamind seemed to ignore her for a minute as he surveyed her apartment. Then he turned his gaze towards her.

"Miss Maria Gonzalez?" he asked. She gave him a wide-eyed look, then nodded slowly. "Excellent! Please, have a seat. We need to have a discussion."

Was he here for legal advice? She was a criminal attorney after all and he couldn't exactly show up at the office. He would be arrested on sight. She slipped into her professional demeanor and stood a little straighter. The law was a comforting shield for her. "Mr. Megamind," one should always be polite to potential clients, "are you here for legal counsel? My rates aren't cheap, but I can guarantee client confidentiality and can arrange private meetings. I have also taken an academic interest in some of your past activities, I believe that there were some wrongful charges and I think I could be of assistance to you."

Megamind blinked those wide, green eyes at her, then looked at his fish for a moment. To Maria's surprise, the gorilla robot shrugged.

"I… appreciate the offer Miss Gonzalez and I may speak with you about it later. However, I'm afraid I'm here about more…personal… business," the villain started. Then he turned to the robot again, "Minion, could you get us some water?"

"Sure thing, boss!" the fish(!) replied. She just stared in shock as the robot turned towards her kitchen. Then the fish turned in its bowl and faced her, "How about you, Ms. Gonzalez?"

"W…water's f…fine…" she stammered. The fish gave her a toothy grin then headed for her kitchen again. She muttered out in Spanish, "_The fish talks_…"

"_Oh yes, the trick is usually to keep him quiet_," Megamind replied conversationally, also in Spanish. She turned shocked eyes on him again.

"I heard that, Sir!" the fish called good naturedly from the kitchen in English. Megamind grinned in that direction ignoring Maria again for the moment.

"S…so, what personal business did you wish to discuss?" Maria asked. The sooner they got this talk over with, the sooner she could get this unpredictable man out of her apartment.

"Ahh, yes. The…unpleasantness," he replied enigmatically. A strange expression of regret seemed to cross his face. Then he put on a business-like expression. She recognized it for what it was instantly. Everyone she worked with had one, herself included. "Miss Gonzalez, I understand that you are a client of the Metro City Fertility Clinic. Is this true?"

"I don't see what business that is of yours, Mr. Megamind," she replied a little icily. She had been getting flack for her decision for months from coworkers and family and she wasn't going to take if from a stranger, even if he _was_ the resident supervillain.

"You will. Ahh, thank you, Minion," he replied as he took a glass of water from the robot-fish thing. The robot-fish then set another glass of water down in front of her. It even set the glass on the coaster. She mumbled thanks, still not sure how to act around it. "Now, Miss Gonzalez, what I'm about to tell you is not for public knowledge. At least not until the guilty parties have been brought to justice." Megamind paused and then continued thoughtfully, "Maybe we could use your legal counsel after all… Please hear me out before interrupting. Almost three months ago, I was abducted and held against my will…"

Megamind then proceeded to tell her how she wasn't carrying a random Latino doctor's child, but _his_. She was in shock once again. Her mind jumped right to the legal ramifications (the law was safe), and pushed the thought of the hybrid child she was carrying to the back of her mind.

He gave her a few options dealing with the baby and she told him flat-out that she was going to keep it. She had went through too much soul-searching to just give up her baby. He gave her an analyzing look then nodded. He opened a wide briefcase and pulled out a paper listing the terms he just outlined. Then he pulled out a small box and two bound bundles of money and placed them on the coffee table in front of her. She saw that the bills visible were one hundred dollar bills and the wraps binding them together said $10,000.

He gave her a sad look, "I am extremely sorry about these circumstances. If you need me for protection or an emergency, use what's in the box. And there are the funds for the first two months. Come, Minion." He stood up and left out the front door.

The fish-robot followed, then turned to look at her. "We'll probably get back with you about seeking legal action. On behalf of the mothers anyway… I doubt _we'd_ win anything at court but another life sentence." Then they were both gone.

It was now a year later and she pulled up outside the Evil Lair and parked where she couldn't be seen from the street. She had worked out several deals with the supervillain and so far, he was true to his word. That was the main reason that they had worked out their current arrangement. She left her son, Emilio with the supervillain while she went to work and they traded off weekends.

The sole custody thing that she was originally going for was flushed down the toilet when Megamind showed up one day while she was eight months along acting frantic. He claimed that he had a connection with Emilio and that there was something wrong. He drove her to the hospital himself and sure enough, they ended up having to deliver Emilio that day or they both could have died. She would never forget the scowling supervillain standing guard over her and making sure she received the best care the hospital had to offer. Or the look of wonder on his face when he first saw Emilio.

She would also never forget that it was the last time she spoke with her father. She had told her family what had happened earlier, of course, but when she sent a picture of Emilio to them with her phone, she was told not to contact them until she got rid of "el monstruo azul." And just like that, she was alone with Emilio.

She walked through the holographic wall as she was previously shown and found herself in a warehouse filled with all sorts of contraptions. Knowing that she wasn't allowed to wander around she waited for someone to come greet her. It was usually Megamind, but sometimes it was his fish Minion, and other times it was that reporter, Roxanne Ritchi. And they were always accompanied by some of those creepy little floating things.

After waiting a minute, she called out, "Hola? Anybody home?" No one answered, but now she was surrounded by the floating robots. "W…where's Megamind?" she asked them nervously. A couple started floating off. Then one behind her gave her a nudge, so she began following the first ones. They led her to the residential portion of the Evil Lair that she was familiar with. That's when she heard the crying.

She rushed to the nursery and stopped in the doorway. She quickly found Emilio in the midst of his six half-siblings (all extremely close in age) and their minion-fish. She saw Megamind, the supervillain, in the middle of the room his eyes slightly wild. He was changing a baby one handed, and was trying to give another one a bottle that they were refusing and he also appeared to be trying to tell a story at the same time. She would have to give him credit for multi-tasking.

Maria couldn't help but laugh. Megamind jerked upright and spun around.

"Thank evil heaven! Maria! Am I glad to see you!" he called out exuberantly. This was unusual. He was usually reserved and slightly threatening around her. Right now he was just acting like an average guy that got in over his head. "Could you give me a hand until Minion comes back? We're running low on formula and they were napping. He should have had time… I think they're teething. Everyone, say hi to Mommy Maria!"

There was a chorus of tiny "Hi's" from the gaggle of blue babies. The oldest was just a little over six months old and the youngest was about four months, but they all could talk. It was the most amazing thing. They weren't up to full conversations yet, but they could talk in sentences.

Maria gave him a nod, "Alright," and picked up a crying baby. She helped tend to the babies as she covertly watched Megamind. He was twirling, laughing, playing, teaching, and tending to the kids. If he wasn't wearing black leather and that cape, she wouldn't know that this was the same man that terrorized the city for years. She figured that he must have forgotten that she was here because she had _never_ seen this side of him. Maria set down the baby she was holding, (was that Martin?) and just watched the villain's interactions. She did say she would stay until Minion returned.

"Daddy. Read!" one of the kids demanded.

Megamind smiled softly and asked, "What do you want to read, Jai-Li?"

"Shy ants!"

Megamind laughed, "That's my girl!" he said proudly as he pulled a book from the near-by bookshelf. "Science it is! Who wants to learn about," he glanced at the book, "clouds?" he asked. He plopped down next to Jai-Li and pulled her into his lap then opened the book. Maria saw the rest of the babies crawl or scoot closer to 'story-time.'

Megamind began reading from the children's science book in a soft tone of voice. When he mentioned that clouds were made from water Maria saw Emilio begin squirming. Megamind looked up from the book and asked if he had a question.

"Water wet. On ground. How it get in clouds up there?" Emilio asked while clutching the odd little sphere that held Alphonsino, his minion-fish. Maria didn't really understand, but she knew there was some sort of bond between her son and the fish.

"Excellent question, Emilio!" Megamind exclaimed as he got up and walked to a whiteboard. He started drawing with different colored markers and explaining about how molecules have different phases and then went on to explain about rain cycles. Maria thought he was being _way_ too advanced; they were just _babies_ after all! But they continued to ask engaging questions as best they could and all showed that they grasped what he was teaching. When Megamind turned to face his kids, she could see the pure joy and satisfaction on his face that teaching was giving him. Once he got to the whiteboard and finished answering questions, he continued his lesson about clouds without going back to the book.

While he was getting into it, Maria felt a presence at her back. She turned and saw Roxanne behind her. Roxanne smiled at her and said, "Looks like he's on a role. Unless you want to stay until they get put down for bed, you should just take Emilio and Alphonsino."

Maria gave Roxanne a little half-smile. She always felt more comfortable with the down-to-earth reporter than with the aloof alien. "I don't know. I don't want Mijo to miss out on a lesson when he seems to be so into it. I know I always got upset when mi madre wouldn't let me study."

"Then stay," Roxanne encouraged. "Minion always makes too much for supper and he'll be excited for the chance to have a new taste tester."

"I guess. It's not like I have any plans." They both sat down unobtrusively near the door and watched the impromptu lessons. Maria looked over the sea of attentive blue faces listening intently to their father and couldn't help but smile. It was like looking at a flower garden. "Do you think any of them will grow hair?" Maria asked suddenly. It was something she had wondered about with her own son, but she couldn't help but notice that none of the babies seemed to have hair.

Roxanne shrugged, "So far they don't. We were hoping that the girls would at least, so there would be one less thing for them to be teased about… But even if they grow hair, they'll have it tough." She sighed. Maria nodded knowing how cruel kids and some adults could be.

Maria could read between the lines and asked, "So, Megamind had it rough as a child?"

Roxanne laughed bitterly, "Oh, Maria. You have no idea. I'm surprised you didn't pick up on that when he gave you the options after the incident."

"Well, some. But he was really business-like through the whole thing. And scary."

"Ahh, the 'supervillain' at work," Roxanne replied, "Well, let's just say that kids will be kids and teachers need better screening and leave it at that. It's not my story to tell." Maria nodded in understanding, then jerked her head toward Megamind as he made a loud noise. She realized that he had gotten onto how thunder and lightning worked and was providing sound effects. He was starting to jump around a bit too.

"Did he forget that I'm here?" Maria asked. "It's just that I've never seen him act this way."

"Really?" Roxanne seemed genuinely confused. "Huh. Either that, or he's gotten comfortable around you. That's how he usually acts."

"What? Like a kid hopped up on a sugar high?" she asked a little sarcastically.

"Yup!" Roxanne agreed. "And I know that he's loving the positive attention and he loves his kids. He's been in almost constant play-time mode since they started interacting with him. I'm almost jealous," she said with a fond smile.

While they were talking, Megamind had finished up his lesson and joyously made his way over to the two of them. "Maria! Roxanne, my dear! How are you two lovely ladies doing this evening?"

"We're fine," Roxanne said with a smile and she reached over and gave him a small kiss. Maria saw Megamind look like a love-struck teenager for a moment. "Maria and Emilio are staying for dinner," she continued.

"Hmm?" he asked still distracted, then seemed to shake himself out of it. "Oh, wonderful! So glad you can stick around. Minion will be thrilled."

"That's what Roxanne was telling me," she replied. She was still slightly nervous talking to the father of her child when they weren't discussing legal issues.

"Where _is_ that tardy tuna?" he asked a little frustrated.

Roxanne hissed by breathing in through her teeth and replied, "Ohh... honey… no…"

Megamind frowned, "Yeah, that one didn't come out very well, did it?" Roxanne shook her head. "No matter!" he brightened up again then spoke into his watch, "Minion."

To Maria's surprise, Minion's voice came back a second later, "Yes, Sir?"

"Code: Another for Dinner."

"Code: I'll Pick Up Some Dessert!"

Megamind laughed and brought his wrist down. He looked at Maria and said, "If we would have known, he would have had something much better than store-bought whipped up. What's the occasion?"

Maria smiled, "Well it was the science lesson. It looked like Emilio was really into it and I didn't want him to miss out. They aren't too young for that material?" she asked with a bit of concern.

"Naw, at their age I had already built a tricycle and broke out of jail. This is just a little bit of knowledge. I should really get started on their workroom…" he trailed off.

"Their _workroom_?" Roxanne asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, I can't have them tinkering and tearing apart _my_ stuff, Roxanne! Some of that is dangerous! It's better if they have a designated area," he replied with what he obviously believed was a reasonable argument.

Roxanne dropped her head into her hands and was muttering something about "seven more" and "no walls left."

Maria jumped on a point she heard though, "What do you mean you broke out of jail at their age? What were you doing in a jail?"

"Oh, that's where Minion and I landed. No biggie," he answered nonchalantly, obviously hoping for no more questions.

Before she could reply, Emilio called for her, wanting attention, "Mama!"

She got up and went to pick up her son, "Hola, Mijo! How is my precious blue angel today?"

"Good, Mama," Emilio said as he put his arms around her and accidently tried to head-butt her again but she was able to keep her head out of the way. Maria scooped up Alphonsino and came back over and sat down still holding her baby and held the fish sphere in her lap. Emilio cried like no tomorrow if he was too far away from his fish.

"And did you learn about those fluffy white things in the sky?" she teased.

"Those are _clouds_, Mama."

"Oh, really?" she asked him with wide eyes. Emilio nodded excitedly and started trying to tell her about water vapor. While she let her son explain what he just learned she looked up and saw Megamind and Roxanne holding hands and Megamind looking at her with a slightly startled look in his eye and a small smile. She mouthed, "What?" at him and he jumped a bit and shook his head like he was embarrassed.

It was about an hour later of them making small talk and playing with the children before it was time to put them to bed. Maria went to collect her son, but then watched a strange bedtime ritual going on around her. Roxanne would pick up a baby and touch her forehead to theirs and then hand the baby to Megamind who did the same thing before putting them in the crib with their minion-fish.

She bent down and picked up Emilio and then, out of curiosity really, she touched her forehead to her son's. She briefly felt a flash of love as Emilio smiled up at her. Has this been what all those attempted head-butts were about? She thought that he was just being a baby and not in control of his movements. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and then the forehead before passing him to Megamind. Megamind did the forehead touch-thing again then put him down in the crib. Maria stood back while they put the rest of them to bed.

Minion poked his head in the room about then and said, "Sir? Miss Ritchi? Ms. Gonzalez? Supper is ready."

"Thanks, Minion. We'll be right there," Megamind answered as he tucked in the babies.

They all walked to the dining area and Maria stayed quiet as the trio around her laughed and joked. Even though she wasn't saying anything, she realized that they had relaxed around her and was letting her see in. Theirs was an odd friendship, but they were opening the doors for her. All she had to do was take a step. Their laughter was contagious and she soon found herself smiling.

Then she realized that they weren't just offering friendship, those walls these people had built up over the years were too low right now for that. They were a family and were offering her a place inside. It was probably a limited time offer. Her son had a guaranteed spot, but she was an outlier.

Some things she planned out and other things were just supposed to happen.

She had already lost one family. She would be damned if she would lose another.

* * *

I tried to keep it fairly simple, but thought I would throw these out there if they were needed.

Translations:

Hola - Hello

Mijo/Mija - A common nickname for children. Similar to Sweetie, Honey, Bubba, ect.

mi madre - my mother

el monstruo azul - the blue monster


End file.
